Black Tern

About: A small tern, about 25cm long. In the spring, adults are silvery-grey above and sooty black below with a black head and neck. The undersides of the wings are white. In the autumn, they are white below, with a small black cap.

How to identify: In the spring, Black Terns are unmistakeable: the only other possibility would be if the underside of the wings were black and the upperside very pale grey, in which case you have seen the very rare White-winged Black Tern.

Where: A scarce visitor during spring and autumn migration, when it can turn up on lakes and reservoirs anywhere around the country.